From Russia with engineering love…Read that as really cheap and good labor at less than 25% of a typical European or American Engineer…

For many Boeing engineers, there’s nothing more gratifying than watching their design take flight.

Boeing/Wilson Chow

Boeing engineer Elena Kovaleva (center) leads her team through a design process.

“It’s really a good moment for us,” said Yulia Gladkikh.

As the wheels of the first 747-8 Freighter lifted off the runway for the first time back in February, 2010, Gladkikh was one of several thousand people who watched Boeing’s newest jet climbed into the sky.

“I was happy and I was crying a little bit,” Gladkikh recalled.

That moment was even more special for Gladkikh since she traveled more than 6,000 miles (9656 kilometers) from Moscow, Russia where she works as a structures engineer at the Boeing Design Center (BDC).

Nearly 1,200 engineers work at the BDC, specializing in structures detailed design and stress analysis. They’re part of Boeing’s global workforce of more than 159,000 employees in 70 countries.